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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Emirati Dad Gets Firing Squad For Torturing Daughter Wadeema To Death

Wadeema and Meera

Wadeema, the 8-year-old Emirati girl who was tortured to death by her dad and his lover and then dumped and buried in the desert, can finally rest in peace. 29-year-old Hamad Saoud al Sherawi will face his maker once his life is ended by a firing squad, though he has 15 days to appeal. The mistress, 27-year-old Al Onoud al Ameri, lucked out and will spend the rest of her life in jail, even though the prosecution had asked for the death penalty for her too. Wadeema's 7-year-old sister Meera (Mira), who was also severely tortured even after the death of her sister, survived, although with a permanent disability.

Tragically, Salma Obaid, the mother of Wadeema and Meera, had lost custody of the girls in 2011, because as we know Islam favors men. Had she retained custody of her children, Wadeema would still be alive.

“The defendants turned the washroom into a sleeping and living place for the victims. They made them eat their excrement and drink their own urine after keeping them unfed and improperly nurtured."

“The defendants stripped themselves of any form of humanity, kindness or compassion and used all sort of unacceptable, mind-boggling and bizarre tortures and brutality. They tied their arms and legs, beat them with their hands and hard tools, burnt them with boiling water and/or heated ironing machine. They also tortured them with Taser guns and stubbed out cigarettes on their bodies in a heartless and insensitive manner."

Hamad was not present during the judgement, however Al Onoud was. It appears the two have a newborn baby boy that Al Onoud gave birth to in custody, and brought to the court during the 7 month trial. One has to wonder how that happened, and how the unmarried couple managed to live together in the UAE when that's obviously illegal.

According to one policeman's testimony during the trial, the living quarters were horrendous:

"not fit for humans to live in." 'It smelled really bad and was dirty. There was only one bed and the furniture was turned upside down. The girls' clothes stank and there was mess everywhere.'The fridge was full of food which was out of date. No one could live in it.'

No-one was aware of the abuse until Meera told her uncle about it during a visit. The couple were then arrested, but there are questions about who was actually responsible.

[the uncle] initially blamed both of them for Wadeema's death but later changed his story, saying Al Sherawi was 'a great father who loved his children'.Emirati police officer Essam Obaid told the trial: 'When I questioned Al Ameri, she claimed she saw Wadeema vomiting heavily and was very sick that evening so she called Hamad and asked him to come to the flat.'They left her until 5am in the toilet and when they went to check on her, she was dead. She vomited because she ate her own excrement.'Al Ameri admitted heating the irons and torturing the girls. She said Wadeema was tortured because she did not listen and was disobedient.'Al Sherawi said he did not mean to kill his daughter, but didn't deny beating or torturing them whenever they turned disobedient.Al Ameri initially pleaded not guilty, but later told the court that she claimed full responsibility for the crime and deserved the death penalty. She claimed Al Sherawi wasn't involved.

Wadeema's death has prompted Wadeema's Law, to protect children, although some parents aren't thrilled with the idea of not being able to discipline their kids.

This is the second death-by-torture case in recent days. At least Hamad, hopefully, will get what he deserves. On the other hand, the Saudi preacher, Fayhan al-Ghamdi, who raped, tortured and murdered his 5-year-old daughter, walked free save for a hefty fine.